James Meredith

There are so many title I could put to this post, it has been an eventful day!

Missed the bus I wanted to get to campus, but it's fine still got in on time to Skype matt and to get to class on time. Slight panic because I had gotten an email saying that my health insurance was going to be covered by my home university - sorted saving $632! But all the details were at trails and I was on campus! It was just really difficult to comprehend how I was going to get my information to the international office today because it needed to be today. Luckily thanks to the wifi on campus I was ale to check online and he the details for everything online. Taylor had already said he was going to help me getting printing money sorted but the international office said they were able to print everything for me instead which was very kind of them. So after finding all these documents and having a mini stress and a panic at poor Taylor I finally got it sorted.

In my reformation class the tutor keeps pointing at me and asking me questions about England, I am not sure of the answers half the time, you'd be surprised how little we know about our own country. Newcastle was a mining city - when did this happen? I must just be an oblivious southerner. After the answer is said I kick myself generally but there are times I genuinely don't know the answer. It isscary being the only British person in a class and being put on the spot like that!

I didn't get to go swimming today which was I gutted about to be honest, I like swimming and to be honest I needed a little stress relief so I might go tomorrow instead. Depends.

I had ribs, risotto, carrots and apple pie for lunch with a drink for $10, it was nice and filled a hole it must be said but to be honest I don't think I will be going there again. I dunno just didn't quite meet my standard, although it tasted lovely it was good to get some spice and some veg inside me. I dunno just didnt quite meet my standards.

After lunch I went to the library (I know standard me) I got to type up my notes for another paper I am having to write it isn't due until late september but I would rather have my notes sorted. I like getting organised. Talking to friend and chilling was then on the agenda until me slavery class.

My slavery class was extremely interesting today, we were talking about the ideas of slavery in the American psyche and how it is never really talked about even in museums, it is a taboo subject. Someone ended up brining up the holocaust and how in Germany it isn't really talked about, at which point Patricia opened up and said that this was not true. She then explain how her family were linked to the holocaust. It turns out her great grandmother helped the Jews and she lost her life because of it. And Patricia says that it is always talked about in Germany and it is a massive source of guilt for them. For a whole country to be struck by guilt about one man's actions - that is powerful stuff! I felt so sorry for Patricia having to talk about it. I was tempted to speak up about Bristol and how it is covered in slave history and it is talked about to a greater extent and although we may not be proud of it, it is something we have to deal with.

I also found out with ole miss rebels came from. Ole miss is what the slaves used to call the slave owners wife and the rebels bit is the people that rebelled against them. It is so interesting to find out where these terms come from. For example Colonel Reb - the old mascot for the Rebels, was based of Blind Jim Ivy who has a history with Ole Miss. I love this place there is so much history here ready to be absorbed and understood! It seemed everyone in the class knew about him and about this but obviously the foreign students couldnt stop writing!

After class we went onto the Square were James Meredith was signed books and giving a talk. He was the first black student at Ole Miss and there is a statue of him between the Lyceum and the Library on campus. He calls for it to be destroyed - he claims it is an idol and therefore God says we are not to worship idols. He is such a pious individual and he claims that it is up to the black church communities to raise every child within a two mile radius then the education system and everything would be better. His book looks like a really good read and I got it signed of course! He is an inspiring individual being in the air force, going to Japan, getting shot at at school. He says he knew nobody at Ole Miss he treated them all as strangers and he s he wouldn't recognise one of the other students now even. I find that really sad that university days are meant to bet he time of your life and yet his seem filled with despair but courage at the same time!

It has been just a phenomenal day and my plan tonight is to relax and write some letters. Read my book watch a film etc.

Tomorrow is another adventure.

Camera charger

So what's was different about today... Classes were the same taking rapid notes during class asking and answering questions still having trouble in one of my classes but I am sure when we move out of the christian empire it will start to make sense to me. All my other modules are seeming to cross over which is nice and means and I can add more to those classes as well.

After my classes and lunch today however instead of just going home or only going to the library for a bit. I was in the library for 4 hours doing work, amongst other things. I got to talk to some friends and catch up which was nice. But I did get another paper done tha tis due for next week. Now i just have to figure out printing, shouldn't be too difficult right. Got to talk some more to Taylor today. Two Skype sessions with matt which was also good, I got to talk to his mum as well which was good. Steph and all the Germans are in the uk now, so I got a very quick chat with them. I do miss home and everything that is going on but at the same time it is nice seeing it from the outside. Matt says he wants to live this with me and so wants to meet all my friends, I don't know how this is going to work but we will see. I talk about him enough to be honest.

After these 4 hours in the library doing readings and papers and notes etc,we had a mandatory meeting to go to about paying fees. I turned up and got some sheets of paper, all well and good but these included the presentation she was going to give. Either way Catherine and I left. I was not going to sit through a presentation that I had already been given. Seems just too stupid, even talking to people after, they wish they had left with us and they said it was pointless as well. I have accepted my scholarship earlier this evening so that will reduce my bursar incredibly. It is still a fair amount of money to come out here and do everything. My trips have yet to be added to my bursar among other things I am sure.

Either way Catherine and I came back to trails and I checked my mail, I found that I had two packages, one was my camera charger, I slightly over reacted to seeing the package come out but I had been waiting for it for a week and a half! I was so happy to see it at that moment in time I swear! So so so happy! I also got a comfort package from Deb. I opened them both whilst watching the US Open, Robson vs. Clijster ( not sure about spelling there.) I found in the one from England, a letter from my parents that had me in tears and some broken chocolate. In Deb's package I had kisser steph kisses, beef jerky, coated pretzels, sour wands,cost it notes, desk organiser thing, pencils, pens! The list goes on and it just crossed a load of things off my list to get in Walmart next time i went. These were just why I wanted and needed today!

So perfect, then to come back to my apartment, chill organise myself, hang with laura and Patricia and Hyein! A really good day!

Tomorrow is another adventure. 

Standard

Standard day of lessons and library and swimming. I swam for 30 minutes this time and I felt so good after it was insane! I need to keep doing this! Stress relief and exercise. Perfect combination!

I got to all more to Taylor today! Turns out he has all the books for our courses together so therefore I think I am going to be using his copies when I can to catch up on my reading. He is a lovely guy, his British accent and pronunciation of things. It was just hilarious! He has invited me to the frat party on Friday, it is his frat apparently so could be interesting.

To be honest not a lot happened today, I went home after classes and more studying in the library and  did my washing tidied my room majorly. Then I went over to Catherine's and watched teen mom with cake!! It was a lovely day. I didn't participate too much in class which wasn't so good but its all good in my life right now.

Good friend, great family, and a gorgeous boyfriend life is good!
Tomorrow is another adventure. 

Life

So standard morning getting up skyping mum, I got to Skype Annie though which was really nice. I miss my uni mates so much!

Classes pretty standard, again answering questions making myself known to whether it is just because I am the only student who has introduce themselves and is foreign in their class. Who knows? I talked more to Taylor and to Sarah today which was nice. Taylor tried and English had cent which was hilarious, he sounded like Michael Caine from batman, it wasnt too bad but it wasnt the best I have to say. I am glad I am getting to know people though. Will have to make more effort me thinks.

After class, I ate some pasta which was lovely and really filling, I think I will be having that again. It was really nice, just wish I had some pepper in it and some protein. There is some lovely food in the union and not too expensive. After eating I managed to go to the library and upload my photos to Facebook and got to do some work as well. It was great.

Then it was off to Walmart with Alice and Aimee, it was good. Waiting for a bus and did a little bit of shopping I didn't really need anything at all. I got some scissors though and I got to go to Rebel Rags and brought some t- shirts and a dress. It was good to get some ole miss stuff, I could spend so much money in there it is scary. I am going to have to do a massive trip there to pick up stuff for people back home and to get presents for everyone. They have given my some ideas for presents and stuff though. Plus everything seems cheaper than in the the campus shops or any other college shops.

Molly came and picked us up from Walmart which was nice of her and she took us for Sonic, I had an ice cream sundae which was great. I have found I am drinking a lot more since being out here than eating which I guess is a good thing. Howev when we can back she dropped us at the wrong building and then when we unloaded the car and carried it up the stairs we ended up taking it into the wrong apartment I don't even know how we managed it! I just got confused with the positions of the apartments. It was mad! We then had to carry all their shopping across the complex from 8 to 13 it was hilarious and after checking the post we had even more to carry! I was thinking about going to the gym but I don't think I am going to need to today because I have been on my feet and a lot and walked every where and up and down stairs.

I am loving being out here though, the food is good, and the people are awesome I am definitely settling in and the time is starting to fly by.  Message to my friends and family worrying about me and storm Isaac - please don't worry. I will be fine, it shouldn't hit me too bad! But don't worry I will let you know if anything is happening to me.

Between the three trips carrying the shopping from mine to Alice's and Aimee's apartment I just chilled and relaxed and got to cool off. It has been soo hot today!

All in all it's been a good day and chilling is on the agenda for the rest of the evening I think. Tomorrow is another adventure. 

Lazy

So today, I spent the day doing work and getting distracted by things.

I went down the pool later on but the sun had gone in. So no real point but got to chill with some new people, like Jacob. But quite a nice lazy day. :) compared to yesterday.

To be honest there's not much else to say. I spent 3/4 hours talking to Matt and my parents which we really nice. Go to update them and talk about some seriou s stuff rather than just chatting randomly. :) just wish I had that Internet connection every day at home.

Tomorrow is another adventure. 

Memphis

Memphis was the place of adventure today!

I got down to the bus nice and early and managed to get on the first one with all the other English students. Most of them didn't have too bad a hangovers, and some even said the party last night wasn't that good. However there were some we found out that didn't quite make it to the bus on time. Which is unfortunate. It was a good day.

First stop gracelands! The audio tour was whistles top and really wick p, seeing all the building and rooms where Elvis lived apart from upstairs - that is kept private out of respect. We saw his re rods, where he wrote songs where he played them. We heard the songs and the memories of his wife and his daughter. It was an awesome tour! I learnt that Elvis' grandmother outlived him and her son (vernon Elvis' dad).  Elvis and hits parents and his grandmother are all buried in the same place, there is even a plague for Elvis' brother. The wreaths and flowers that are laid there are wlovely and some people have really  put thought into presenting their love for the King! It was just so surreal thinking that he lived there for 20 years! I thank god that Laura had given me her camera. The outer walls of graceland are covered in writings about him and dedicating love for him etc. it was just an amazing trip to go on. What shocked my the most was the number f records and outfits hat they still have of his that haven't been lost. I know it has only been 35 years but still, it was incredible.  I couldn't believe Alice didn't know how big Elvis was, she didn't think he was a big deal! 

Moving on - shopping mall next 4 hours of shopping. And i did go shopping, I brought some lovely clothes a new belt! Yes! And just some changes of tops and some more jumpers just little things it was really good to get some retail  therapy! makes the whole world seem better doesn't it! Also the exchange rate is pretty good at the moment. Some of te girls didn't buy s much it I guess there isn't always stuff for everyone. It wasn't the best shopping mall I have been too, I guess not knowing a lot of the shops didn't help and everything being bigger sizes - or at least funny sizes didn't help either but I still had fun either way.

After some shopping we visited this farmers market on the way back! It was really good for some of the foreign students from Hispanic countries or from orieental countries because it was an international supermarket  basically and sold everything from their countries. Heyin was telling me that she go a load of Korean food which she was glad about, get back some normality. I only got some fresh fruit and not much else because although I like trying new food. Not being up ale understand the label doesn't help. Although I was tempted to get some green tea for Olivia or some real noddles for dad I don't think they would have lasted that long being kept in my suitcase. No to mention the size of the packets there were just amazing. The size of everything here is incomparable to anything I have ever seen or experienced in England. 

However for the English students it was a little too foreign, so we met in mc donalds after buying our produce. I have found I am not so much hungary as thirsty when I am out here, I was always stopping at water fountains. 

The trip home was too bad, discussions and music and attempted sleep by most. It was a really good day out, Catherine invited all the girls over for a movie night but I am just too tired, I do nt want to fall asleep in her apartment. 

Tomorrow is another adventure. 

Frat party

I am not going to bore you with the general going to and from classes and visiting the library and the amount of work I did. Put it this way, I did work I went to class.

I did go onto campus nice and early today to try and talk to Matt and my parents, I was able to talk to my mum quite a bit but Mattt is starting to get busy so it's going to get hard to talk to him.

After class,  Molly came and got Alice and I and took us to the SOnic!!! It is amazing! It's like a drive thru but you can sit there and eat your food, we just had milkshakes but they were soo good. She then took us to see the rich people's houses is Oxford! I have no words to describe them,! Iflt like I was in a film, they were fairy tale houses! it was truly phenomenal . Molly laid that people from college lived here! I was like I wish I could live in these houses when I am at uni! They were that incredible! Grand oaks the place was called. We then stalked some guy back to campus, we was cute, clearly had a dog and was from a great fraternity! What reason was there not to?

When she brought us back , I checked my mail and got very annoyed that my camera charger hasn't arrived yet and it was one of those moment where all those little things hit you and I had a mental breakdown - wonderful. Not fun! I swear I am going to end up earning a reputation here! Us postal service isn't very good for international post, FedEx doesn't really exist in the UK therefore it hard to get anything here on time! Iask one of the advocates and she said that it can take up to a month sometimes! How ridiculous is that? I am going to have to make sure when I am sending stuff home that  I send it in good time to arrive for birthdays and the such like. Iwas very lucky that Laura has an extra camera that she's letting my have until my charger arrives!how awesome is that!  I have such wonderful flat mates!

Either way , Alice managed to calm me down, bless her. Later on in the evening everyone was asking if I was okay. Oh dear Oh dear! I went down to the pool party and chilled with some of the other English people as well as my other mates as well. Before deciding it was time to go and get ready fort he party tonight. So did my hair and make up got back to Alice's and once we were all ready we went down to Robs and Doumhal's after a few laughs and pictures etc. we called taxis to take us to the fraternity that were having a party. However and this was the bummer of my night - i hadn't brought any ID with me thinking I wouldn't need it, therefore couldn't get in, therefore had to go home.

How well I am not disputing that I like sleep! Haha. Tomorrow is another adventure! 

Swimming

Class today was really good, got to speak again in my reformation class, he is explaining such simple terms and asking some simple questions. It's really strange and so different. But he is a really cool professor, and makes some of the difficult topics really easy to digest. Yes even some bits that I don't understand. An American guy introduced itself after this class though - Taylor. He says he is in my middle ages class as well. I have made a new friend!! Haha, he must just be interested in European history, I guess I will find out when I next see him.

After this class I stood outside for a bit and talked to some other international students and discussed the teaching methods and practises compared to back in home countries and it was so interesting to discover that they were having a similar experience to me. Even though they are doing different classes. After this lovely chat, I went to the turner centre, to find out how recreational swimming is organised, I paid $5 for a locker that is now mine for the semester. Once finding this locker getting myself a towel, I got into the pool, I only managed 20 mins because I was meeting Alice at 12. But I think I will try and do at least half and hour twice a week of full swimming, then I have the stuff I do at trails as well. If I don't manage it twice a week then that's not so bad I guess.

I grabbed some lunch and then we heading to the square, we were going to walk but with my swim kit I really did not fancy it. So we went to Rebel Books and tried to get textbooks organised, they managed to find all of mine however I only wanted to rent some of them and I bought others. The total was a little high but I would get some of it back when I sold them back to rebels. I wasn't able o rent those books because my card didn't have a us address, everything was set up for the US students they have no way for 'legal aliens' to meet professors requirements! It sucks! I couldn't believe it, we tried every way, but to no avail. I had to buy them if I wanted them. I bought some still but not others, I said I would try other avenues for those. But at least I got some of them right....

Managed to persuade the driver to get us back to campus and who did I have to sit next to, none of other than the dean of students - Sparky!so we talked, and he asked me questions and my family and why I had chosen ole miss and stuff like that! It was great to get this close contact with an important member of staff. Especially when he said I could visit him anytime in his office in the union!

Once back at campus I got my head down and did some work, I got half of one assignment done before having to head off to my second class of the day. Relatively easy - watching a film and taking a few notes, I wrote down more questions I had than notes per say. It was a better representation of slavery than the Hollywood films. Sankofa was its name.

Library again was my next stop to do some more work, surprise surprise. I know I shouldn't shut. Self up in the library all the time but to be honest I want to get ahead of these assignments so they are ready before the due dates. Mainly so I have time to check them.

The evening was relatively uneventful, I got to talk more to Heyin and Patricia and Laura though which was good. I talked to them about their families and how they were finding it here and stuff like that. Heyin showed me pictures of her family and her boyfriend and stuff which was lovely. It's hard to believe she is older than me. Patricia and Laura I equally talked to for quite a while. It's interesting listening to their English and helping them in some cases.  They all seem really happy to have me as their flat mate and I am happy to have them. Heyin seemed excited about me wanting to learn some korean and patricia and laura seemed interested about Matt wanting to talk to them.

My Internet is so rubbish in my apartment I am not able to talk to my family as much as I would like anymore. Management suggest buying our own rooter or using the Ethernet cable - we were promised high speed wireless, why should we have to pay for a new rooter or for an ethernet connector.

Tomorrow is another adventure. 

Concert

Okay so classes were almost exactly the same as they were on Monday, apart from there was no easy syllabus to read, I had to fully concentrate on what the professor was saying and make rapid notes. At least this will get my hand back into the habit for when I go home. the lectures were really investing and they crossed over a little bit which was nice and I think it will really help when coming to revision if two or more things cross over that I can relate between and add more detail to.

After class I brought a massive piece of pizza and a drink for about $4 which is awesome especially because it was a huge piece of pizza! It was like quarter of a whole pizza! I then sat in the grove and chilled out , Alice came and joined me for an hour and then I was able toakype my parents. They were watching The Help, I love that film. It is so great that there is wifi all over campus so I can Skype my parents and Matt whenever I am free and they are online as well. There are a few people I need to Skype though! I am loosing contact with some of my friends and it is not good. Hayley gave me some bad news yesterday over Facebook, I was gutted that I couldn't be there for her, Skype would have made it easier but it is nothing like being on the end of a phone of being able to catch the train to go and see her and support her! 

I got some work done in the computer room yesterday but not having word on those computers really doesn't help matter. I don't think I will be doing work in there much more to be honest. I is small the computer screens are zoomed in. It's not a great work environment. I think I am going to do all my work on campus, where there is good Internet and stuff. Doing only research and writing of notes when I am at home, if I can get a good connection tothe wifi that it. The lack of connection has been really annoying me and I am certainly considering buying an Ethernet adapter now for my wireless device. 

Either way , I went back to trail and got some stuff done and tried to Skype Matt but becasue of lack of connection it was too late. I went to the free concert my Dierks Bentley in the grove on campus. I managed to get a ride there and therefore I got some good seats that everyone to come to me and join with me. It was awesome met someone new, Gage. He seemed pretty cool. The support group seemed a little bit out of place, they were more of a rock band and although they were alright I don't think ole miss responded to them well. However I must say I have managed to learn Hotty Toddy which I am well chuffed about. Every time someone said Are You Ready? It began! It was awesome the atmosphere was incredible! Even when the artist said it, we all chanted! 

Dierks was awesome! A lot more popular and definitely a country singer! He was amazing I think I have found another country artist for my iPod. Only things wrong with this concert were the people that I eventually got in front of, I got elbowed in the face, I have my personal space invading, my foot got peed on! These five guys were dicks! There seems to be two extremes of guys here, decent gentlemanly ones or the dicks! Either way a good time was had by all and I may have converted some of my friends to country music! 

We organized a taxi home, and I got slightly short but oh we'll, we made it home safely and due to lack of connection I am now having to blog instead of last night. Therefore today is another adventure. 

More classes

I found out what my other classes are like today and I have a feeling Tuesday and Thursday are going to become my favourite days. My class this morning of the reformation I knew some stuff but was also able to kinda show off with some of the information I knew. I think it is going to be definitely an interesting class but I am not sure yet whether it will be easy or hard. There is a lot of reading to do for it and the professor does quizzes in order to check up on us doing the reading. It is a sneaky way of making sure we are doing the reading I guess, even though not all of it is related to our papers, I'm sure there will be some link to in the exams we will have to do. What's strange is I have already started one of the assignments for that class. I found the book as excerpts online which has definitely helped in beginning 4-6 page paper. I already have a fair few notes so I am going to type them up tomorrow and see where I am at with that paper. I know it sounds sad but I just want to get ahead then I can relax and I don't really have to stress that much.

My other module in the afternoon was amazing, it was on slavery and the professor for it was really awesome! We had to go around and introduce ourselves to the class which was kinda useful it broke the ice kinda. She was so down to earth and just generally awesome! She was joking about and making the first class really fun, I don't think I stopped laughing throughout the class. It was a relatively small class was well. To be honest looking at my diary I work to do and reading to do, but I think it is manageable i just need to get a balance and to sort my life out in all honesty.  Having a student planner will really help with that I think.

I had a few hours between my two classes today, in this time I did some work in the library, ate my lunch and chilled at the grove. However I have decided that starting from Thursday in that break I am going to do some swimming for an hour to do some exercise and then I am going to go to the library and do some work and then I am going to get some food before going to class. I think this plan is going to work really well but I guess we will see how I feel on Thursday.

What I loved about being the library today was that I was able to talk to Steph and Matt. I was so happy to hear Steph is feeling good and got herself a man. I almost don't think I stopped talking to Matt today, it was really nice but at the same time I think it was a bit much. A great thing about having campus wide wifi was that I  was with friends today and my mum was talking to me. Which was lovely to hear from her and get to talk to her but at the same time I felt afterwards like I was neglecting my friends. By I am sure once I am organised and everything is settled I will still be able to talk to my friends back home and be able to maintain my friends and my grades here as well.

I am definitely getting there now I am becoming busy and getting work to do. It is awesome knowing what I am going to be doing each week in advance and when exams are and when papers are due in. I am already using some of the local vocabulary, like classes, papers and professors. It is crazy but everyone is saying it so therefore you kinda need to stay with it. Just makes everything so much easier.

I got some more post today, Auntie Deb sent me a magazine and a postcard, and grandpa sent me a lovely card as well. It was really nice to hear from him. I do miss home and the people but I am having an awesome time he as well. It is so contradictory! I just wish I got to talk to some of my home friends more. I seem to keep missing them which kinda sucks.  But I am going to keep trying my best.

After all this stuff I have done today, I came home, found the computer lab which has a printer, I just have to buy some paper and did some work. I then came back to my room did some more skypeing and did some more work. At least I have a beginning or a head start on some of my papers. Which I am really chuffed about.

Tomorrow is another adventure. 

First day of class.

Today I started my classes! After trying to find the right room and sitting down on my own, clearly being the only international student. I got my first taste of what it was going to be like to study in the USA for the next 16 weeks.

Each class as you would expect was different, however there are similarities between them. Bare in mind I only had three today so my other two could be completely different. They are all based on a sort of lecture/seminar mash-up. There are around 30 people in the class and in each class a syllabus was handed out.

What was inside this syllabus was different however, each one had the details of the professor, and a 'timeline' of each week and what we were studying the reading assignments and the such like. However one syllabus I got had a load of grammatical notes in the back, basic stuff that I would have thought would be taught a lot lower down the school system. The details on the books also differed, whether you were given the full details ISBN number and everything or just the surname and title of the book. Also some of the professors read through the syllabus and some just left us to read it on our own. It was very interesting to see the different ways the professors act and teach even. I could even tell this through meeting three different people today. Two were very question, engaging and discussion centered and based and one was very lecture but if you have a questions please ask. I noticed that when reading the week by week planner, three topics that were covered in me lecture at my home university were taking up almost a whole weeks worth of classes. How crazy is that?!  Also almost every professor explained what a primary and secondary sources was. To me this seems like pretty basic stuff but I guess they may have some student who haven't done a lot of history before and need it explaining to them. 

It is so interesting seeing how they teach, and how different it is to England's ways. For example, when standing in line to see whether some letters had the right postage on them, I heard a girl behind me saying she hadn't decided on her major! Can you imagine going to uni and not knowing what you want to study? I know it can be normal out here to wait until third year to decide fully what your major is. I also know that even in England some people change there degrees after the first year, but it just seems crazy to go to college and spend all this money and not know what you want to get out of it. 

However I must say the assessment process seems a lot easier and geared towards continuous assessment. Again each module is different but it seems to be pretty standard to write and essay or two or three, do a midterm exam and a final exam all that are worth credit. Seems pretty straight right, what I didn't realize was that 10% of my grade comes from class participation and attendance! Seems crazy and they have rules on attendance! Tardiness is counted as absence, we cannot use laptop computers in class - has to be old style pen and paper, we cannot leave the classroom for any reason. Alice's professor said if you leave do not bother coming back. It's crazy to think something like that! I mean if you need the loo or whatever, for example I have on a monday, Wednesday and Friday, three classes one after the other. Admittedly I do not have to go far for them but still what if one runs late. It seems so different to uni in England, it feels more like school than uni! Although I think some of the information and topics may be hard to digest and I can already one modules being hard. 

After eating lunch, getting organized relatively, I skyped my parents whilst being sat on the grove. I signed up for a few trips as well, off to new Orleans, Memphis and Beale street. So looking forward to them. Picked myself up a planner which I know will really help get at least my student life and timetable sorted. My afternoon was quite relaxing, my sunburn is not helping matters it is really sore and slanting on chairs etc can be painful if I get the wrong spot. 

Once back at Trails I chilled with Hannah, I ordered one of the books I need and emailed my other professors about textbooks and explained about being a foreign exchange student etc, and most of them were extremely understanding and helpful. Either offering alternatives or suggesting routes to getting books etc. it was really useful and I am glad Molly told me to get to know the professors, I will definitely be visiting some of them in their office hours if not making an appointment to see them. I think got the opportunity to Skype Matt as well and update him about my day and tell him about all the weird and wonderful things that are going on over here. The time difference makes it hard but to be honest I am managing to power through and make it work to talk to most of my friends. There are a few I wish I could talk to more but I am sure that will come with time. 

My evening consisted of doing a little bit of research and work towards an assignment - I wanted a little head start in my reading before studying hard tomorrow. I then went over the Alice's apartment and Doumhall and Gill were there so, we watching ridiculousness it is a crazy programme basically showing people's silly stunts or funny videos from YouTube! It is brilliant for a bit but we came into a marathon - and these in America last for the whole day. So it got a little boring. I left just as the American Inbetweeners started. I have watched the film but I can not stand the programme. This one was just bad acting and from the reactions of people around me it was a lot worse than the English version. 

Anyway back home and chilling getting my head straight for tomorrow. Tomorrow is another adventure. 

Relaxing

Well to be honest today has been awesome - skyped matt and the parents!!  I am missing them so much I think it is hitting matt hard at the momet that I am not just am hour and a ad away. It is killing me but I am really worried about how much it is hurting him. I just want to make him okay about it all and make him believe that I will be home before he knows it.

I spent the whole of today by the pool, relaxing, reading, listening to music and swimming. It was awesome! Great. Company and sun and water and everything! Only a few things could have made it better.

Meeting with the student advocate was painless and to be honest quite helpful. Just chilling, figuring out classes tomorrow. Where to go etc. I am so glad I have made so many friends both english and those of other cultures. It is so awesome! I am so nervous and yet excited about starting classes. I just want to get started!

Sorry for the short posts recently but to be honest, I haven't been really.busy.

Tomorrow is another adventure!!! 

Organized

I went to meet the rebels today and waited over an hour to meet the head coach! But at least now I can say I have met coach Hugh freeze. I didn't have time to meet the rest of the team it was so busy! The IPF was huge and just amazing the facilities there are just incomparable! Ad would be so jealous! I have two posters signed by him though so I am happy! 

Then I went to walmart and brought some proper food to cook when I am hungry in the evenings,I know probably the best idea. Haha. I had to be so conscious of what I was buying because of the lack of kitchen appliances I have. But there is plenty of food where you don't need a can opener.

After coming home from this and dealing with the crazy Saturday buns timetables. It was madness I unpacked everything and went down to the pool to join Jordan and some other guys. I was the only girl. I ended up trying to play water basketball with a load of jocks. They just called me the girl and didn't bother learning my name! I know seems really pathetic but it was quite annoying. But it was definitely an experience. 

Then it was time to get ready as there was a party to go to, I walked over to Rob's place and chilled until everyone started leaving for the house party - getting taxis and the such like and then I went home, ate some junk food and chilled for the st of the evening before getting ready for bed. Only problem was that I kept waking up and coughing and wretching and occassionally being sick! It wasn't good but I felt fine, I don't feel sick at all ! 

Anyway not a very exciting day but still it was a nice day even though the sun wasn't out. Tomorrow is another adventure! Better weather and a tan here we come. 

Stress

Well I have to say today has been stressful. Trying to organise modules and the such like. Classes start on Monday therefore they had to be organised today! It doesn't help that another tropical storm hit last night, thunder and lightening, and torrential rain! I got so scared, it is time like this when I thank god for time differences. I was able to Skype my mum and sister because it was morning there  They were able to talk to me and calm me down and get me to go to sleep. I still only got about 4 hours sleep which meant I was horrible and grouchy all morning until I was able to get back and go back to sleep for an hour. 

Trying to get modules sorted and arrange stuff when you are that tired is so counter productive. I think a life lesson has been learnt, get some more sleep! Nothing is so important that you have to miss sleep over it. At least I managed to get my chest X-ray done and find out where the Lester building is. I have to say trying to get modules sorted was really complex! You have to save courses to your favorite before you can register for them and that's if the site lets you register at all. I was luck, I managed to get a hold of the history department to get try and sort out my modules and I have to seay they really helped me! I got to read the syllabus which meant I could make educated decisions on which modules I really wanted to take. The lady managed to get me into two classes and the waitlist for three classes so it is not so bad I will just have to turn up on the first day of that class and introduce myself and see what the professor can do, if they have any spots at all. I think I will be fine once classes start time will start to pass a lot quicker as well. Once I got back to my flat I was able to sort out my room and as it were sort out my mind. It was really nice to get organized. I watched legally blonde as well which gave me the motivation to get going. 

At the end of the day, if the person you normally go to for help is unavailable at the time, try and different avenue, I must have asked about 6 different people the same question today in order to get to an answer which although may be aggravating at least you are getting it sorted and organized. You can't just give up on one way off getting information you have to try very avenue. It take determination and guts but at the end of the day that is what is needed in every day life as well together by. So although the modules choosing process is quite complex and difficult to maneuver, it is worth asking departments and oth people if they can help you. I have found that as long as you are polite and willing to ask the questions then people will respond well to you. Unlike the email I sent earlier today, i was very angry and upset and in hindsight should have been more politically correct with it and been more polite with the phrasing. I have no aplogised for my tone and helped hi. Understand my situation a little better. So I guess we will have to wait and see what happens. 

I am very happy that I managed to Skype Matt for a while and I also got to Skype my parents it was good to update them about all the things that have been going on especially with the complications when it comes to the modules! I am looking forward to starting now, I was to get going IFAD get into the swing of things this limbo moment is not good and I do not like it!! 

After getting myself sorted I chilled by the pool with a few of the English girls which was nice and got to sun bathe a little as well before it started to get a little cold to be outside which seems ironic in such hot weather. But in any case coming inside having a shower and watching legally blonde definitely put me in the right mind set to get sorted and finish the day off well. 

I forget whether I have told you about my flat mates, Laura and patricia (both Germans) and Heyin who is south Korean. They are lovely and their English is really good which puts me to shame because I don't know or know very little of their language or culture so I am hoping they can teach more so I can broaden my horizons and be a better individual. Every country is different and it is good to learn about other countries, Patricia said I sounded like Kate Winslet the other day which was really nice of her. I am definitely looking forward to living with them, the seem really lovely people and I just hope I can be lovely back and to have made new friends. I am taking a class with Patricia so that should be lots of fun! I just want to start now. Everyone is the same I think, well all those who have sorted their modules in any case. I think it is going to be a good idea to email the professors and see what can be done, just to make myself known .

I tell you what I am so happy I have organized a phone it is making everything so much easier and so much more smooth like Jordan is able to text me of any parties that are going on or a gathering, I need to know the same with Molly. It is just so much easier and makes everyone's life a lot easier I think. I know that for sure! My cough is slowly getting better the drugs auntie deb asked me to get are obviously kicking and starting to work which is just wonderful! 

I am ready for tomorrow's adventure. 

Nothing

Right! now let's get back on track. Posting at their right time today.

What happened today p? Well as the title suggests no a lot. I set up my webid which means I get online anywhere on Campus, which I guess is pretty awesome. There was another tropical storm however this one was a lot worse, it was like July 2007 in Gloucester but within the space of 3 hours in Oxford, Mississippi. It was horrendous! I walked in it and got absolutely drenched! However I must say I managed to dry off pretty quickly. I feel kind of awful today becasue I have been spending time with a lot of English people rather than widening my horizons with other people from other cultures and other languages and the such like. It is really odd, but I guess until I fully settle in I am going to stick with familiarities. Alice (Essex) and Gill and Domhnall (both Irish) and I visited the rec center where there is a pool and a gym and the possibilities of doing classes and stuff like that. It was a great place to dry off and a good place to know my way round. Will definitely be visiting there at some point. I forgot to say, we went to chick filet for lunch and it was quite nice to be honest with you. I am sure however I am going to get thinner here because I can't see myself eatin a lot of food. It is all very greasy. Some of it is fine but I think it is going to take some getting used to. 

Oh I forgot something - I got a card - I know sounds exciting however all this card was, was to book my chest x ray when I have finished my class schedule, so it can fit in with my classes and stuff. Sounds crazy I mean how long can a chest X-ray take right? But oh we'll I guess I can sort that out later. Classes! Well there is a palava in itself. Such a complex system it is so difficult to figure out how to do things and how to organise it. I am lucky it turns out two of my requested classes I have been put on which I guess is good but I think they are a really basic level. I am just hoping Reading uni do not stop me from doing them because they would be easier and would help me do well at the end of this semester. All the classes are generally booked up and see are having to visit professors and email them and things like that which is awful! It is so hard, and complicated. I think I am going to have a word with my advisor tomorrow and see what they say. But I have a real feeling that it is going to be really hard for the first week and a half to two weeks. 

It is so humid here, it is starting to put me in a really off mood. I haven't had a real lie-in in over a week. It is killing me! I need to sleep! I am still coughing. All this stress I was not expecting. Not to mention the pressure of trying not to get caught with alcohol. I could fail all my modules for this term which makes the whole idea of it worth avoiding - parties yes but drinking no! I am having to stay away from it. Not to mention the pact with my dad! I am so going to beat him! We can do it I'm sure!  
I got to Skype the whole family today which nice! It was great to talk to them. I am missing everyone from home so much, it was really nice of Gill to let me use her wireless Internet in her flat in order to continue the conversation, however I ended up being unsocialable so I cut the call. I hate being unsocialable but I had to talk to them. 

Most of the people here are in there third years so they are a lot more grown up these me and they can officially drink which is really annoying! But also I am kinda getting bossy again which is the one thing I didn't want to do. I really don't like people that try to do something and then just give up because it is too difficult or they can't be bothered etc, etc. it really gets on my nerves. Yes I want to talk to someone tomorrow but at the same time I want to get my classes sorted and try and get into classes that I want to do. That is going to take effort! Grr some people. I completely get where they are coming from - but why not just look at other options and see. The system isn't the best here but it works for them, you don't always get the modules you want in England either so at the end of the day - live with it!! 

Anyway rant over - tomorrow is another adventure. 

Apologies

I just wanted to say orientation was meant to be for August 15th but i fell asleep soo had to finish and post it today. I will post real today's later on tonight. :) 

Orientation

So today was the first day of orientation, and to be honest it got quite tedious and boring towards the end. It got very complex with the health insurance and there was so much information to take in it was hard to concentrate, especially when the breakfast that was supposed to be provided wasn't. Teenagers doubt like getting up at that time, most days therefore without food it was even worse. Although some of the information about classes and the Mississippi laws and what our visa means and some of that stuff was really interesting and it was good to know what we can and cannot do. It was great to know who to talk to in certain situations and know a little more about what we are going to be doing the rest of the week. So it was a completely wasted day, also we got free food out of it which is always a bonus. The people I must say are lovely, they are all really enthusiastic and up for it and really bubbly lovely people. It is good to know that there re people who can help us that have been through the same situations and can understand what we are going through. It was also good to know what our card can do,  I still have a few questions but I felt really nervous about asking them so I will just email people and ask them and see what responses I get.

After all this paperwork and concentrating  we went to Walmart to et a few bis and pieces I brought very little food but I got a pillow, some cleaning products just some little essentials. I think for food I am going to have something big around lunch time and then snack in the evenings. I think that will be better for me than spending money to cook food whilst here. I still have to figure out the weekend when I get there.but I know most places will be open to get some sort of food I would hope.

So after getting two buses to get back to trails and unpacking all our food. I went down the pool and cooled off playing basketball and swimming. It was really nice with Diane (france) and Nayana (Brazil). We also met some guys there as well. Mikael and Carlos (brazil) and Jordan (Alaska) plus a few others, playing more basketball, chilling and talking. It was really nice getting to know some more people. They invited me and Diane to a party tonight. Diane couldnt go , but I went for a while and it was really cool. Listening to real cool music talking to people from all over the world. It was awesome!!!

Tomorrow is another adventure. 

Alone

So today started out with a good breakfast as always and a late taxi! Wonderful news! Either way - arrived at university trails at 10am before everyone arrived - got checked in and got my keys and that was that. I checked out my flat, it is lovely got a kitchen, living area, and two bedrooms to a bathroom. The bedrooms are big enough. The welcome pack had all sort of stuff in it, my student id, a map of campus and of the town, schedules for this week. Nice to  have to be honest with you. Well I am all unpacked and there is still room left over.  The linen pack they gave me is very starchy and no very comfortable the dish pack they gave us is all plastic and kinda nasty but I guess it will do for 16weeks. I am gonna buy a blanket and a pillow tomorrow at walmart to make it nicer I think not to mention more homely. 

Either way I was all excited thinking I was going to be fine and then I had to say good bye to my dd. I don't think I have cried more in my life! Everything was fine until he said "see you in December" and it just hit me that I am all alone. I then couldn't stop crying, I called Matthew and being the angel that he is, he helped calm me down. Then I kept getting messages and calls from the morris clan which were well meant but ended up making me worse. In the end I had to leave the flat, my flat mates still haven't arrived yet and I was going stir crazy. I went down to the club house and sat and chilled where people were just to be around them and ended up crying again and again. The people there were lovely but they could really do anything to help. I just wanted to go home and even now at the moment I still kinda do. I miss my family I miss my friends all being at the end of a text or the phone it's really strange and I don't like it. Everyone keeps saying that I will get used to it and to give it some time but my head is just spinning about, 

My friends have been really supportive and have been there for me! I am so appreciative of their help! I just wish they could be here, and we could be doing this together. Olivia set me off as well - her Facebook messages to me are some of the cutest things and just set me going they really do. I don't think I have any tears left p. 

After all this crying, one of the outreach girls took me to her office and me and another lady did some setting up for her for tomorrow - with the beginning of orientation. It was really nice to talk and chill and get all this stuff off my mind. Then some of the girls went out for dinner and let me go with them. We went to Ajax it was traditional Mississippi food and was amazing! We went with some south Korean girls who were also lovely but they were all like best friends before coming here so it is kinda odd some people knowing others and then those like me who know no one. 

My bites are still killing me! My aunt deb is really helping to get me set up, texting me, making sure I am okay and everything no to mention telling me all this medical stuff I need to get just in case. She is a gem! Although my shopping list for tomorrow has just doubled haha. 

Tomorrow is another adventure. 

Rain!

As the title suggest today it rained, however it was different to British rain! It was hot, it was warm rain and there was thunder and lightening with the rain. And when it stopped raining you know it normally cools everything off and it feels better - NO! It was got hotter. humidity is screwing with my head! It makes it hard to breathe sometimes!

Either way because I am British and of this type of family - I walked! My dad and I walked in this rain and we walked what seemed like all over campus!! I hate rain and thunder and lightening it puts me in the foulest of moods ever! We walked through thr linrary which is massive! It has the same layout as the one at my uni back home but it is so much bigger., i have also noticed they have so many places to study all over campus! Its amazing! I am going to spend most of my time chilling on campus i think. Not to mention the number of food places as well and thats just in the union. We eventually found the bus stop we were looking for and got to Wallmart (it cost us a buck! Thats all!!). We brought the few things we needed and came back. We decided to chill for a bit and just look up places to eat and stuff. Molly was going to join us but something stopped her from coming which is cool. We went to the Rib Cage - just off the square. It was lovely! Good food! I was no expecting the bread to be fried or sweet, and I completely forgot that chips means crisps in this part of the world. Either way I have to say it was lovely and I really enjoyed it. Everything is so much bigger here, it's just so strange and it's so much to get used to. Even there language is different, I mean I got laughed at for using the phrase cheap as chips, or saying do you fancy going to dinner with us? Seems so normal to me! And yet alien to everyone else. Oh and by the way we got a little wet coming home again.

Molly came a picked me up, and took my back to her dorms to print off my dad's boarding passes for tomorrow and for me to meet all her friends! There are lots of them and it is going to be really difficult to remember all their names but I am sure I will learn with time. Either way there dorms are lush! They have roommates though which is really bizarre. But they dress their rooms up real nice and they have so much under bed storage! Most people have fridges and microwaves! I mean I can't imagine having that back home! Also it seems that most of the student take 5 classes or 15 hours of work a week. So it seems like that is the thing to do, but I don't have to do gen ed classes so we will have to see. Molly and Christian were explain all about sororities and how they work and what is involved in them and everything! They are really hard to get into and you have to do so much stuff! Seems pure madness but after meeting all her 'sisters' I would love to be part of one! They are all a massive family they are so close and tight nit. It is amazing! 

We ended  up going to this girls house and chilling out, dancing and stuff. It was amazing they are all crazy people. I am going to have an amazing time if I stick with this lot! They are awesome. I just got to loosen up around them, they are all so tight and I am only here for like 4 months so it's gonna be difficult together myself in on them but I will defo try! What was weird was that people were just helping themselves to food from the fridge or freezer? I knew it was something they did over here but was crazy seeing it being done. 

All her friends loved the fact that I am British and loved to her my accent so were asking me questions all the time. They wanted to know about the Olympics and therefore freaked out when I told them I was volunteering there. They asked me who I met and then they freaked out again, they obsessed with british royalty and celebs! Its amazing! It was great to see some people are so excited about our country. I didn't realise a lot of them woke up at 3am to watch the royal wedding and the jubilee!! I know people that woke up that early to get down there and see it first hand but not to watch it on tv! I guess the time zones suck! 

I don't even know what else to say - after a relatively sad and depressing morning I have to say i had an awesome afternoon and evening. My camera however still wont charge off anything which sucks! So i am going to have to wait til i can get that set up and sorted. Oh well stuff like this happens i guess. Tomorrow is another adventure 

Discovery

After I posted last night, I emailed Molly (my global ambassador - the student who kinda looks out for me here) and she came over and settled a lot of my fears and stuff and all my worries about accommodation and food and everything. She is awesome and I think we are going to get along great! Well at least I really hope we do!

Well today has been so interesting!! Still was up early which sucked - breakfast was awesome, egg, bacon, fruit, hash browns - they were different to what we have in England. None the less it was gorgeous and I defo ate my fill. Dad and I decided that we would meet Molly on campus to settle the rest of our fears and find out what else happens on campus and stuff. So we saw her and got talking and answered all our questions and everything we had issues with. It was so great to talk to her and get everything square in both our heads. I can definately say she settle my mind. Also getting to know her better can never be a bad thing.

Dad and I then took the 3 mile walk to Wallmart. We stopped by CVS and picked up a few pieces and we tried to get my camera sorted. I have managed to forget the plug for my camera thinking it would charge off a USB connector to the mains. It hasn't worked so now dad is having to ship the lead out to me - extremely irritating. No pictures for a while. :( oh well I am sure I will make up for it at some point. Oh and i got a cell phone sorted so i can talk to the friends i make out here - i have to say it was a lot more expensive than i thought it was going to be. So we walked there an back - total of 6 miles for those who hate maths. It reached around 95F today so that's around 35C. Crazy I know! I am not used to this heat and having to drink this much fluid.

We came home and chilled for a bit, I got to Skype Matt again which was lovely however he was so tired I had to make him go to bed even though I wanted to stay chatting for him for ages. His letter makes me cry every time I read it!!! I am missing everyone from back home at the moment, I think it is probably because I don't have anything else to think about and focus on. Plus Matt plus Annie and Hayley keep writing lovely messages on my statuses and on my photos which is really nice! Olivia is being lovely too, tell me all about her holiday and liking all my photos as well, it's so awesome! I feel so privileged to have such great and supportive  friends. I know that when I have an awful day they are gonna be there for me to keep me going. At the end of the day it is 16 weeks of pure adventure - 112 days for those who care.

We met Molly for frozen yoghurt which I had never had before and loved!! She showed us her condo, where university trails is, where my building is for history, where her dorm is, where her soriety house is, Eli mannings house is, a park were I can walk and study and stuff. It was just a trip around the local area. I have to say it was amazing. It was really nice to see the surrounding area and how is changes to being surrounded be trees. Just the differences between here and England are astounding. The real estate and what you can get for your money is soo different. Figuring out money is tripping me out! But it's all good just got to forget the exchange rate. Again Molly was brilliant she answered all our questions and worries and queries. She is a phenomenal student and woman! And one of the greatest people I have ever met. I really hope anyone reading this who is thinking about. Study abroad gets someone like her because she has made the initial transition soo much easier.

So dad and I have chilled on the balcony and written down some questions for my accommodation people and stuff like. I have to say it has been a day of discovery and learning new things. But tomorrow is another adventure. 

1st Full Day

So was up early this morning bloody jet lag. Either once ready, Dad and I set off on a walk around to get our barrings, off to downtown we went and there are so many little quaint shops - quite lovely and looks like i have just stepped into an old Western film with all the rocking chairs on porches and beautiful wood balconies. Quite surreal. We found out where a few bits and pieces were, however we couldnt find a pharmacy or drug store anywhere, even when we went back later we couldn't find one. We returned to our b&b for breakfast - scrambled eggs, cheese grits, a slice of sausage, fruit salad, fresh bread and orange juice. I have to say the grits was not to my liking!! However I had to try it because well... You just have to on these sort of trips.

Either way, once fed and watered, we set of to a public practise of the Ole Miss college football team! I have to say the amount of equipment they have and the level they play at, not to mention the size of the stadium is just incomparable. It is just something else, I got bored fairly easily though and went for a walk around campus - I have to say it is lovely and green. The buildings are so big! I am sure I am going to get lost more than once, even with a map. It is such a big campus and there are going to be so many students there. What about classes? Will everyone know a lot more than me to being with? Am I going to have to double my work load to get up to the same level as these other students? I know I should take one challenge and one adventure at a time however I am the sort of person who worries about these things.

Speaking of worrying! I have done something really stupid! I looked up some reviews of where I am staying and they are not the best. They have in all honesty really freaked me out. I know what I m going to do though if i am not in decent accommodation. I have talked to dad and he has calmed me down about the some things but I am still not happy with what I have read or seen on google maps. I know, I use some really reliable source s.

We seemed to have walked for miles today, we walked almost all around campus and walked to one shopping center that consisted of a cinema, jc penny's and a book mart. And walked all the way almost to university trails the other side. We came to the conclusion that I am not going to able to walk to campus which I must say I am slightly disappointed at. I like my walking. I saw some of the fraternity houses when we went onwards to find the confederate cemetery. It just such an interesting culture and so different to the UK. The whole idea of frat parties and pledges seems like something from the movies not done in real life. After exploring a bit more we sat in the grove and talked about where to at tonight and chatted about the whole experience etc. it is really nice getting to spend this time with my dad.

Once we made it back, we did a bit more research about the area and what we could do on the other days we have here. We tried researching some of the malls around here but to be honest did have a lot of luck. It didn't tell us what was in them in any case. I got to Skype Matt which was lovely, it was soo good to hear his voice and see his face, occasionally with Jane popping in the Screen.  I read his letter over again and ended up in tears all over again as well whilst on Skype to him! How embarrassing! We tried going to a rib place recommended online but it was closed therefore we had to go to this pizza place instead. It was lovely if a little greasy for me, i just needed fluid it turns out. What tripped me out was that there was 6 tv, 3 pairs showing different programmes, I don't think dad and I talked throughout the meal. In my opinion that is awful - going out for a meal means that we should talk and discuss. Watching the news and football was to what I had in mind. It was just mind boggling. When walking back to the b&b, we were trying to find a camera place because I can charge off the mains power and have managed to forget the three in plug... Oops. We ended up letting dogs onto the street, it wasn't our fault....or was it? 

Home now and chilling before sleep - tomorrow is another adventure. 

Arrival

So I flying today was fun. I slept well surprisingly. Could just have been the amazing bed I was in. Once up dressed and ready the whole family dropped me and dad off at the airport. We had already checked in online so it made the whole time a lot better, I was in charge so I could do it on my own when I am coming back. It was fairly painless and easy to be honest. I had to find all my visa documents to show to the women in order to finalise check in. So after buying a few bits and pieces like water and headphones that we needed in the airport we headed to our gate. I was happy to call Matt and let him know i was in the airport and on my way to the greatest adventure i have yet come across. To be honest we weren't waiting too long until we got to the gate and when we got to board. From then it was pretty much like any other flight I have been on to the states. The in flight film to begin with was The Lorax, in all honesty it wasn't the best film I have ever seen. Food was standard, but I was thankful to have something on my stomach. The only issue it keeps hitting me the enormity of this trip. Mum said me not to worry about this factor but however it is hard not to worry about it! Dad is on holiday for 4 days and I am there for 4 months - I mean 16 weeks. It is scary not matter what anyone else says. I am quite impressed with myself how few tears I have shed for this so far. I think the 14th will be bad. Both dad and I will be awful. I take that back the traveling got to me and so did the lack of sleep, although I must say I managed to get half an hour on the plane and was very impressed with myself. But still when I was in chicago airport I kept crying. After walking around trying to avoid the hellish prices of food and drink. Crazy!! Never want to do that again -$5 for two bottles of water! 

We managed to get on our late plane and get into the air - looking out the window there is soo much green stuff!!! It is all countryside around here! Either way we arrived in Memphis relatively quickly and then got in a taxi. All was going okay, the taxi was a rickety old Honda and so slightly scared me. It took all my effort to get into the back seat. I couldnt hear what the driver or what dad was saying half the time so I ended up falling asleep. I kept drifting off I don't know for how long. All I know that when I woke up we were pulled over checking where we had to be going. Worrying I know. Htolkien us on a little trip around the campus as well that was lovely! The campus is so big and every building is big as well! It is just incomparable! Even the football stadium holds 150,000 people! AMAZING! We found the b&b and got checked in and into our rooms at which we decided that the bed was calling!! 

Slept for 8 hours roughly and it is one of the softest beds I have ever slept in. Tomorrow is anoth adventure. 

Tomorrow!

So Here we are!

After a tiring two weeks volunteering at London 2012, I am reached this point.

I fly out to Mississippi tomorrow morning and as soon as I can I will blog to let you all know that I am there and what I am getting up to!

Part of me is excited but I keep shedding tears for the people that I know for certain that I am going to miss. I am all packed up and ready to go, I am pretty sure I have everything and if I don't I am sure I can find somewhere to buy it! I am sure I already have the essentials packed.

I know dad has got some plans whilst we are out there but I am sure there will be time for me to get my barrings around the town, and learn where things are. I have been emailed by the Ole Miss ambassador that will be looking after me (as it were) while I am out there. I have been emailing her back and sort of asking questions and those sort of things. I believe her group is bout 4 people so it will be nice to get to know people that are in the same position as me.

So much going on in the next 24 hours, I just hope I don't get too nervous or feel ill at any point, that would be a bummer.

I also found out today that I am actually only on a plane for about 10 hours rather than the 14 I have been thinking I was doing. I do have a 4 hours lay over in Chicago though. But I am sure I can find something to do.  Anyway I will update you along the way if I can. Unfortunately trying to put pictures on here could be difficult but I will do my very best so you can see what I am doing as well as reading about it.